Katie Couric and Bryant Gumbel Star In BMW i3 Super Bowl Commercial

BMW officially premiered the new, 60-second spot for the all-electric BMW i3 that will air during Super Bowl XLIX on Sunday. After a 4-year hiatus, BMW is returning to the big game with Newfangled Idea, featuring Katie Couric and Bryant Gumbel. The spot juxtaposes the famous 1994 Today Show clip of Katie Couric and Bryant Gumbel’s initial confusion surrounding “what is the internet?”, to Katie and Bryant in 2015 grasping the newfangled concept of the revolutionary BMW i3.

“In 1994, people had not yet grasped what the internet was, which is similar to how electric mobility is viewed today,” said Trudy Hardy, VP of Marketing, BMW of North America. “Electric mobility is at a tipping point. We are on the verge of something great and we hope that with this spot, we can educate audiences about the BMW i3 and e-mobility in a fun and engaging way.”

“When BMW offered me the chance to turn back the clock to 1994 and make fun of Bryant—and myself – I jumped at the opportunity,” said Katie Couric. “The tape doesn’t lie, we weren’t exactly visionaries back then, but thankfully in 2015 we are much more adept at recognizing game-changing, environmentally friendly innovations like the BMW i3.”

While I’m not sure about casting these two for an all-electric car that targets a much younger demographic, it’s a clever ad that will give everyone a good chuckle.